Remember The Dream For Which We Fought
by hazeleyedharmony
Summary: What if Kouichi never regained his memory? Would the others be able to rebiuld their friendship? Would they tell him about Duskmon? and would their friendship be able to survive the truth?
1. Remember your name

_Author's note: Hi everybody! so i was looking through some of my notebooks and scribbled in a corner was "What if Kouichi never regained his memory?" and when i saw that i immediatelythought of this. i know, i know the last thing i need is another story but hey what the heck! so yeah haha. the poem kinda relates but it's where i got the title so i have to incorporate it somehow. oh and by the way my computer crashed so i lost like three or so chapter of "Things to Come" so that set me back a little anyway enjoy!_

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**To Remember the Fallen**

to remember the fallen  
is not to remember how they fell  
but to remember why and for what

to remember the fallen  
is not only to remember their actions  
but to remember the dream for which they fought

to remember the fallen  
is not to remember how they fought  
but to remember who they fought for

to remember the fallen  
is to remember their reason  
to remember their dreams  
and to remember those they fought to save

to remember the fallen  
we continue their fight  
we carry their dreams  
and we finish what they start

**~Analissa Range**

"Kouichi?" he heard a voice say but he was too bright to open his eyes so he simply nodded his head.

"Do you know where you are?" Kouichi slowly opened his eyes and let them slowly adjust to the light. When he didn't respond the doctor's face fell a little and he continued; "You're in the hospital. What's the last thing you remember?"

Slowly Kouichi pulled himself into a sitting position and thought for a moment. "Groceries, I was with my grandma buying groceries."

A shocked Ms. Kimura turned to the doctor and mouthed "She's been dead eight months."

The doctor nodded and turned back to the boy, "Ok Kouichi, what month is it?"

"October" he answered without a second's hesitation. His mother and the doctor turned to each other and exchanged worried looks.

"Just get some rest." the doctor said as he closed the curtain around the bed. Kouichi sat in a daze for a moment and tried to rationalize what was happening.

"_Did I pass out?" _he thought and tried to remember the last few hours, though they were a blur. _"Why did mom have that look when I said I was with Grandma? Where IS Grandma?" _Kouichi sighed heavily and laid back and tried to stop his throbbing headache.

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"Retrograde amnesia is common with head injuries," the doctor explained to Ms. Kimura and the worried group of friends. "To him the last eight months never happened. We need to slowly, and gently, bring him up to speed. If it would help I'll tell him of his grandmother."

"Thank you, but I need to do it." Ms. Kimura said slumping into a chair and burying her head in her hands.

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"So he won't remember us?" Kouichi heard a male voice ask, the voice sounded hesitant as though he didn't want to know the answer.

"If you met after October than I'm afraid not." the doctor answered.

"There's a chance though, right?" Kouichi heard another boy ask. This boy sounded about the same age as the first only his voice was more energetic.

"Seeing you might jog his memory but I don't want to get your hopes up." the doctor replied solemnly.

"Will he ever remember us?" a female voice asked, and she sounded as if she would burst into tears at any moment. The doctor's silence was enough for the girl and she let out a soft sob.

"Can we see him?" a younger voice asked.

"Not today, Ms. Kimura you should talk to him; the rest can see him tomorrow, visiting hours start at nine." The doctor said as he and Ms. Kimura walked around the curtain to Kouichi.

"Hey honey, are you feeling ok?" she asked, stroking his hair.

"I guess," Kouichi mumbled. "What's going on?"

Ms. Kimura sighed and pulled a chair up to his bed. "You had an accident. I don't know why, but you fell down the stairs at Shibuya Station and hit your head. It's June 27th." Kouichi sat stock-still and tried to let it all sink in.

"Where's Grandma?" he asked after a while. Ms. Kimura inhaled deeply and grabbed Kouichi's hands.

"She's not…well she…She's dead Kouichi," She said softly. "I'm sorry."

Kouichi stared blankly at his mother for a moment and for some reason this piece of information did not surprise him. "When?" he whispered without breaking eye contact.

"October 20th" She said, stroking his head again. Kouichi's eyes widened and he pulled away from his mother.

"But the last thing I re… It was the cancer wasn't it?" He mumbled burying his head in his head.

Ms. Kimura nodded and Pulled Kouichi into a hug. "You should get some rest. I'll be here in the morning. Go to sleep." and with that she left the room. Kouichi forced a small smile, rested head against his pillow and allowed himself to fall asleep.

-------------------

Kouichi woke at the first light of the morning "Kouichi?" his mother groaned from the chair it appeared she had slept in. "You're up early. Do you remember anything?"

"No" he muttered sounding ashamed with himself. "There were other people here yesterday right? Who are they?" he asked, trying his best to hide his curiosity.

Ms. Kimura took a deep breath and gave Kouichi a remorseful look. "One of them was…he's your brother."

Kouichi just sat frozen in his spot. "No…but I don't have…" he trailed off looking confused.

"I'm sorry. He's your twin; he lives with your father. I-we never should have lied to you."

The two sat in silence and Kouichi refused to look at his mother until there was a knock on the door and the doctor entered.

"Feeling better?" the doctor asked and Kouichi shrugged. "Well you have some visitors if you're up to it." Kouichi immediately perked up.

"Yeah of course!" The doctor smiled and exited the room.

"I'll leave you guys alone. Don't tire yourself out," Ms. Kimura said as Kouichi reluctantly allowed her to kiss his forehead and follow the doctor from the room.

The room was silent for a moment before he heard shuffling outside of the room and he held his breath until the door was slowly pushed open.

Once the five kids were inside the room they all muttered greeting and stared intently at Kouichi who returned their gazes with curiosity.

"You have no idea who the hell we are do you?" Takuya asked a little crestfallen.

Kouichi just hung his head solemnly. "I know he's my brother but that's all. Sorry." the others exchanged glances and pulled chairs up to his bed.

"I'm Takuya, the little one's Tommy, that's J.P., she's Zoe and you're brother's Kouji." Takuya said, pointing to the others as he said their names. They all smile at him except Kouji who was staring intently at his lap.

"Do you guys know what happened to me?" Kouichi finally asked after an uncomfortable silence. The five exchanged nervous glances before answering.

"You fell down the stairs at Shibuya station," Takuya began.

"You were just trying to catch up to me," Kouji mumbled, still not making eye contact with his brother.

"Oh," was all Kouichi could say, it just seemed to his as if they were holding back a little.

"How do I know you guys?" Kouichi finally asked after a brief silence.

J.P. couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Now that, my friend, is were things get messy."

"Do you trust us?" Zoe whispered leaning towards Kouichi slightly. He was a little taken aback by this but nodded none-the-less.

"We met after you fell." Tommy said bluntly. Kouichi just stared incredulously at the group.

"Have you ever heard of a place called the Digital World?" Takuya asked with a slight smirk.


	2. Remember where you have been

_Author's note: Remember me? No... sorry, it has been awhile. let's see, since i last_ _posted I've graduated high school and had an insane amount of grad parties not to mention all the college crap (I'm going to a Big 10 school but that's all I'll tell you) anyway here's the next chapter! I hope you like it!_

**Disclaimer:!**

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"Way to go Takuya," Zoe said sarcastically, elbowing him in the gut as they were escorted out of Kouichi's hospital room.

"It wasn't my fault!" Takuya muttered shoving her back.

The others couldn't help but to roll their eyes. "You shouldn't have mentioned the Digital World." Kouji said once he had finished apologizing to the nurse.

"How was I supposed to know he'd freak out and that his blood pressure would go crazy?" Takuya asked innocently.

"Takuya," J.P. groaned "We have to put ourselves in his shoes. Image loosing over half a year of your life, we were just too aggressive. I think we should wait until he's released to talk to him."

"But what if we scared him off?" Tommy asked.

"It's Kouichi, even if he's afraid his curiosity will get the best of him and he'll practically beg us to tell him everything." Zoe couldn't help but laugh.

"I hope you're right," Tommy sighed dejectedly.

----------

After two months Kouichi was finally released from the hospital; his memory had improved some but only up until his grandmother's death.

On his first day of school Kouichi saw a familiar pair of goggles. "Takuya?" he asked timidly as he approached the boy at his locker, hoping that he had the right name.

"Hey buddy! Remember anything yet?" Takuya began excitedly before he got a good look at Kouichi. He looked as though it had been days since he slept, his hair was more disheveled than usual and he looked thinner than when they last saw him.

"A little, not you though- sorry." Kouichi mumbled.

"That's ok, well when you're ready come to my house" he said scribbling down his address as the first bell rang and handing it to Kouichi. "You might want to take a nap first, you look like hell." Takuya finished laughing good-naturedly as he headed to his first class.

Though the tardy bell was about to ring Kouichi just stood staring at the piece of paper, his hands shaking slightly. He had two choices: either throw the paper away now and forget his brother and the others or go to the address and discover all that he lost, and gained, when he slipped into the coma. Needless to say, he knew what he had to do.

----------

It was seven o'clock that evening when Kouichi pounded twice on the door, silently resisting the urge to turn-tail and run.

"You're here!" the goggle-headed boy cheered when he answered the door. "Z, call J.P. tell him to get over here, Kouichi's here!" Takuya called into the house as he ushered Kouichi inside. "Oh, and tell him he owes me ten bucks!"

"J.P. thought it would take you longer to come over." Tommy explained from his position on the couch without turning away fro the t.v.

"Yeah but i knew you couldn't live with the curiosity." Takuya laughed as he joined Tommy and motioned for Kouichi to follow him. "Come on buddy don't be shy, we're all friends- err well we were all friends- we're all about to be friends again."

Kouichi couldn't help but to smile a little as he took the empty seat between Takuya and Zoe. "How's your head?" Zoe asked gingerly after a couple of minutes.

Kouichi studied the girl for a moment before mumbling "I don't notice it anymore," as he unconsciously brushed his bangs a little to reveal six stitches.

"Kouichi!" Zoe gasped as she grabbed his arm and pulled him off the couch and towards the kitchen. "Here." she said as she pushed him into a chair and began to fill a Ziplocbag with ice. "This should help."

"Thank you." he said, smiling as he took the bag and a dish towel from her hands. He wasn't sure what it was about these people but he couldn't help but to warm up to them.

"What'd I miss?" J.P. bellowed as he ran into the living room.

"You're about to miss ten bucks, pay up he came." Takuya laughed as he held out his hand to J.P.

"No way." J.P. said, glaring with mock anger and smacking his hand away. "You said he'd come the first day and unless I follow a different calender I'd say he's been awake longer than a day."

"He was in the hospital! He came the first day he could so that's all that counts." Takuya said, sticking out his tongue.

"They do this a lot don't they?" Kouichi asked looking worried but almost amused.

"You don't know the half of it." Zoe laughed as the two walked back to the living room.

"You'll get five and you will love it" J.P. said with a definite note of finality as he dug into his pocket and smacked the bill into Takuya's outstretched hand.

"Ok, now let's get down to buisness," Takuya said, pocketing the money. "You probably want to start with Kouj-"

"With the Digital World," Kouji interrupted, speaking for the first time that evening. Though the others shot him confused looks the defiant look in his eyes prevented them from saying anything.

"Kay well... the Digital World...well...jeez this is a hard one." J.P. chuckled nervously and looked to the others for support.

"Well...on the 27th we got a text at like 5:30ish" Takuya began.

"5:37" Kouji said solemnly.

"How did you remember that?"

"How did you forget?"

"New rule: no arguing when we're explaining things to Kouichi, got it?" Zoe said, looking menacing.

All four boys nodded and even Kouichi felt as though he should agree, he also made a mental note never to get on her bad side.

"So we got the message," J.P. said, still looking at Zoe with slight apprehension. "to go to Shibuya from Jiyuugaoko."

"Then I almost got hit by a truck!" Takuya said with more excitement than the situation called for.

"Are we even going to pretend that that's relevan-" J.P. began before catching Zoe's eye. "Sorry."

"Than we got another message to transfer to the subway," Tommy began before being interrupted by Takuya.

"First: I'm not arguing," he said, catching an annoyed Zoe's eye. "Second: Tommy you're what, eight? Why do you have a cell phone?"

The only response Tommy gave was a small smirk before continuing, "Well, instead of a regular subway station..."

"This isn't explaining what the Digital world is." Kouji growled.

"Fine jeez, it's kind of like a parallel universe made of computer data." Zoe began knowing how ridiculous she sounded.

Kouichi looked between the group trying to find some sign that they were playing a joke on him. When not one of them showed any hint of a smile he slowly nodded for them to continue.

"You believe us?" Tommy asked, sounding ecstatic.

"Honestly? I do. I know i probably shouldn't and you guys are probably messing with me but for some reason i really do believe you."

"Good, that saves us a lot of time." J.P. laughed, slapping Kouichi on the back. "Sorry too soon." he apologized when Kouichi winced.

"And there are these amazing creatures called digimon, you know like 'digital monsters.' Not the most creative thing considering that i wouldn't necessarily call all of them 'monsters.'" Takuya mused.

"Oh and get this, they can talk to us and the have powers, like flying and fire-breathing and just mind-blowing things!" Tommy said, looking slightly nostalgic.

"Why do you believe us?" Zoe asked suddenly, studying Kouichi closely. The others just exchanged curious glances.

Kouichi couldn't help but to shift a little under her gaze. "I don't know... I trust you I guess."

"That's not it," Zoe said, squinting a little as she watched him.

"I do trust you guys," Kouichi sighed. "I guess, I don't know, in one day I found out I missed over half a year, that my grandmother died and that I...that I have a twin. It's weird you know, to find out you've been lied to your whole life. I just don't want to be lied to anymore, and I trust you not to."

The others gave him sympathetic smiles. "We promise we won't lie to you."

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_Author's note: sorry this was kind of a slow chapter, it'll pick up i promise!_


	3. Remember whom you have known

_Author's Note: This story is by far the easiest to write (mainly because it doesn't really have a plot, it's much more spontaneous) so yeah this will probably be updated more regularly (is that proper English? oh well) than the others. So yeah....please enjoy :)_

**X This Disclaimer can not be seen by Muggles X**

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"So, you probably want to know more about the digimon right?" Tommy said, looking excited at the idea of describing them to Kouichi.

"Actually," Kouichi began with a slow blush creeping over his face, "I was kind of wondering what my relationship was with each of you. Like how we got along with each other. And you can be honest, I won't mind."

"Fair enough, ok how should we do this?" J.P. asked looking kind of uncomfortable.

"What if Kouichi went in my room and we talked to him one on one? That way it won't be as overwhelming." Takuya said, motioning for Kouichi to follow him as he went upstairs.

"I'll go first!" Tommy chirped, bounding past the others into the bedroom. "Our relationship is the least complicated."

"Hey!" Takuya, J.P. and Zoe, who was blushing slightly, yelled in unison. Tommy simply stuck his tongue out at the others and shut the door in their faces.

"So, our relationship," Tommy began, turning to Kouichi who, even with Tommy, felt slightly intimidated. "We got along great! It's not that exciting but we did."

Kouichi couldn't help but to let out a relieved chuckle. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Yeah, we weren't insanely close but I think you liked me, you'd laugh at all my jokes at least. And I really liked you! You were much nicer than I expected."

"Nicer than you expected?" Kouichi whispered to himself.

"Yep…well that's our friendship it's kind of boring I guess, I'll go get someone else. Theirs will be more interesting, promise." Tommy said happily as he left a confused Kouichi behind. For a moment Kouichi mulled over what Tommy had said but J.P.'s entrance interrupted him before he could make sense of it.

"I don't know what Tommy meant by our friendship being complicated, it really wasn't" J.P. began before Kouichi could say anything. "But if we're being one hundred percent honest…" he trailed off looking a little guilty. "We weren't the best of friends. It wasn't anything you did…it was all me."

Kouichi just nodded slowly. Though this should have surprised him it didn't. J.P. had always given off a slightly distant air. "I'm really sorry Kouichi; I guess I was a little jealous." He said chuckling slightly. "I mean when you came you were so mysterious and powerful and I guess I felt a little put out."

"What do you mean 'mysterious and powerful?" Kouichi whispered, looking slightly anxious.

"I was just being petty I guess," J.P. continued, ignoring Kouichi's question. "Don't get me wrong I liked you and all I was just being selfish. But don't worry. Even though our friendship was more cordial then the others we had a mutual respect and honestly you liked me more than I liked you." He finished, laughing softly. "I'm sorry 'bout that. Well that's about it, I promise I'll be nicer this time. I'll get someone else now."

"What's going on?" Kouichi whispered as J.P. left the room. _"What are they hiding from me?"_

"Hey Buddy!" Takuya said, smiling widely as he came into the room and sat down in front of Kouichi. "Are these little meetings helping you remember anything?"

"No" Kouichi muttered looking miserably at the floor.

"Damn it" Takuya mumbled.

"But," Kouichi continued looking up, "It's kind of helping me understand you guys more."

"Well we're here to help. It's the least we could do after what you did for us." Takuya said with his trade mark grin and ignoring Kouichi's confused looks. "So our relationship…hmm let's see…we certainly got along. I shouldn't say this about myself but you definitely kept me in check; I can be a little irrational at times. And you stopped me from killing Kouji a few times, so that's good. But the best thing about our friendship is you'd listen to me, even when I'd ramble on about nothing and I really needed that at times."

Kouichi couldn't help but smile at this. He was pleased that someone would think that highly of him. "Can I ask you something?" Kouichi asked with a slight hesitation in his voice.

"Shoot."

"Well a few things you guys have said have well…" he trailed off looking everywhere but Takuya. "Tommy said I was nicer than he expected and J.P. called me mysterious and powerful, then you said that helping me was the least you could do after what I did for you…What happened in the digital world?" And with his final statement he made eye contact.

For a split second Takuyalooked like a deer caught in headlights but he quickly shook it off and smiled warmly again. "I think you should talk to Zoe. She's been dying to have her turn." And with that he walked from the room leaving Kouichi more perplexed than ever.

"Hi," Zoe said as she walked into the room in the softest voice he had ever heard her use. (Or at least that he could remember.)

"Hi," he muttered glumly, staring at the floor again.

"What's wrong?" for some reason her question caught him off guard a little.

"Nothing, I was just thinking of what the others said." He replied, looking up at her.

"Oh well…if it helps we can do this another time." She said with a hint of what sounded like regret in her voice. No, he must have heard wrong, what would she have to regret?

"No, I want to know." Kouichi said in his best attempt to sound cheerful.

"Ok," she said sitting down on the bed next to Kouichi. "Well, I was immediately drawn to you. It sounds kind of dumb now but there were a couple of nights when I couldn't sleep and you'd stay up and talk to me. I know it's kind of stupid to think this but it was one of the sweetest things anyone's ever done. Besides the fact that you're like the nicest person I've ever met another reason I liked you so much was that I kind of wanted to fix you. Your pain was so heart-wrenching and I didn't think you deserved it." Zoe said blushing slightly and smiling sadly to herself.

Kouichi just stared at the girl confused; he had never met someone, besides his mother and grandmother, who seemed to genuinely care about him that much. It actually was able to distract him from her suspicious statement. "Zoe…I'm sorry I don't remember…" Kouichi began before Takuya peered his head through the door.

"Hey Z…can I talk to you?"

"Can't it wait? We're not done talking." Zoe said, looking annoyed. When Takuya's gaze intensified Zoe sighed and walked towards the door.

"Kouji left." Kouichi heard him whisper, though it was clear that he wasn't supposed to overhear. "He said something about not being able to do this and then bolted."

"That asshole!" Zoe said in a clearly audible voice.

"J.P. went after him but I think we should call it a day." Takuya whispered, glancing nervously at Kouichi.

"Yeah I guess," Zoe said, also whispering. "Kouji would do something like this."

"It's getting kind of late," Kouichi said standing up. "Maybe I should go." Even though he desperately wanted to know more about everything he also wanted to help in any way he could. And right now it seemed the best thing he could do was to let the others have time to themselves.

"Ok," Takuya said happily, though still a little distracted. "Come back tomorrow, same time."

"Yeah, of course." Kouichi said with a slightly forced smile as he left Takuya's room.

"This is gonna be harder than we thought, isn't it?" Zoe sighed to a tired looking Takuya once she heard the front door shut behind Kouichi.

"That's the understatement of the year."

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_Author's note: poor, poor Kouichi. Will he ever get the whole story out of these guys? anyway I hope you all are enjoying this! _


	4. Remember your father

_Author's note: Hola mis amigos. This chapter is kind of long compared to what I usually do but I just couldn't find a good stopping point. So…yep, that's pretty much all I have to say about this chapter…enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: I'm going to college, i had to sell digimon so i could buy books**

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"Got anything?" Takuya asked the moment J.P. answered his cell phone.

"Hi Takuya, I'm good thank you for asking. How are you?" J.P. asked in a sarcastic tone.

"This is serious! Have you found him?" Zoe asked as she snatched the phone from Takuya's hand.

"No, I forgot how fast he was. I checked his house and he wasn't there and now I'm wandering aimlessly through…wait a minute," J.P. trailed off as he stepped onto an empty park bench to get a better view of the crowd.

"What's going on?" Tommy asked when Takuya grabbed his phone back and put it on speaker.

"I think I can see…"

"Come on talk to us J.P.!" Takuya said angrily right before he heard J.P. end the call.

--

"There you are!" J.P. said as he shoved his phone into his pocket and jumped from the bench. He then quickly weaved through the crowd until he was on the tail of his target.

"What the hell?" Kouji growled when J.P. grabbed a hold of his ponytail and began walking back towards Takuya's house. "If you ever want to see that hand again you'll let go of me right now," Kouji said as he struggled to free himself.

"It's like an idiot handle," J.P. laughed as he gave Kouji a small tug.

"I honestly think I'm gonna have to kill you this time," Kouji grumbled once he realized J.P. wasn't about to loosen his grip.

"You can't run forever my friend. Besides you should be grateful it's me and not Zoe, she can be pretty feisty," J.P. said as he slowed down enough so he wasn't dragging Kouji.

"I guess I should thank you for that," he grumbled as the two rounded the corner towards Takuya's house.

"Hey Takuya, open up! I have a present for you guys," J.P. called as he knocked on Takuya's door with one hand still firmly holding Kouji's pony-tail.

He almost didn't get his whole sentence out before Takuya had thrown the door open and grabbed onto Kouji's pony-tail himself. "What's with you guys and my hair?"

"What the hell were you thinking?" Takuya yelled, ignoring his discomfort as he walked Kouji to the living room and shoving him on the couch.

"I have to get home, I have a curfew," Kouji said, attempting to stand up before being shoved back by J.P.

"Oh no you don't, you're not leaving until you talk to us. Besides, it can't be past 8:30."

"Fine," Kouji grumbled "I'll talk."

"Good, what the hell were you thinking?" Zoe asked, looking menacing.

"I can't talk to him," Kouji muttered in a solemn tone. The others exchanged worried glances before Kouji spoke up again. "I can't tell him about me and my life. I'd be confirming that his father abandoned him to go and live a wonderful, successful life with a new woman while his ex and oldest son struggled to make ends meet. I can't tell Kouichi that someone could care that little about him; he doesn't deserve that, no one does."

A brief silence was the only response to Kouji's confession as the others weighed his words and stared at him with a mixture of pity and understanding. "I'm sorry I pulled your hair," J.P. muttered sheepishly, breaking the silence.

"It's OK," Kouji said, smiling weakly.

"You are going to have to talk to him eventually," Zoe said, sitting next to him and rubbing his back in a comforting way.

"Yeah I know, but hopefully he'll get his memory back before that," Kouji muttered.

"There's a chance he never will though," she continued. "And if he does he'll still remember that you refused to tell him. Kouichi needs you now more than ever Kouji."

Kouji just nodded slowly. "He'll be back tomorrow," Takuya said as he walked towards the door as a gesture that it was OK for Kouji to leave.

"Thanks," was all he said as he left Takuya's house.

"Do ya think he'll come?" Tommy asked after a minute.

"You never know with Kouji," Takuya mumbled.

--

"Kouichi!" he heard his name called as he walked home the next day.

"Oh, hi Zoe," he muttered shyly as she approached him, he noticed she was still in her school uniform which he found a little odd as he had been wondering aimlessly for at least an hour now.

_[Author's note: OK, quick breakdown of the school situation, I'm gonna base it of how my city does it so it might be weird for some. First Tommy's in the local elementary school (a k-4th building), there are six in my city and so he'd go to whichever is closest to his house that's why I said 'local.' Takuya & Kouichi are in the intermediate building (5th & 6th) J.P.'s in the middle school (7th and 8th) Zoe's in the local private school (k-8th) and Kouji lives on the border of the city but is in the neighboring school district. I know this seems like a lot of unnecessary explanation for something so trivial it's just to explain why in the future Takuya's the only one Kouichi interacts with in school. I should have just said 'they go to different schools' and have been done with it but oh well I'm odd haha anyway back to the story.]_

"Are you on your way to Takuya's?" she asked as she fell into step next to him.

"I need to stop by my house for a minute but I'll meet you there soon," he mumbled avoiding her gaze.

"I'll come with you," Zoe said cheerfully. Though Kouichi's initial reaction was to protest he couldn't bring himself to say anything so he silently continued towards his house.

The silence wasn't broken until they approached his apartment complex. "It'll only be a minute," Kouichi said as he rushed into his house and shut the door quickly. He didn't intend to be rude but in the short time he had known her, well that he could remember, he had learned that she wasn't the best with respecting personal space.

---

"So what do you want to learn today?" Zoe asked once the two were on their way towards Takuya's house.

"Why does Kouji hate me?" Kouichi asked half ignoring Zoe's question.

For a split second she didn't know how to respond but she quickly shook it off. "He doesn't hate you," Zoe answered gently, "he's just scared. He might come off as a total prick sometimes but deep down he's afraid of hurting you."

"Hurt me how?" Kouichi asked, once again getting a vibe that they were hiding something from him.

"A lot of shit went down," Zoe muttered gravely, "both before and during our digital world saga."

Though that didn't answer his question at all Kouichi simply nodded and allowed them to lull into silence again. "Zoe…" Kouichi began after a few minutes.

"Yeah?"

"Were me and Kouji close in the digital world?" Kouichi muttered staring at his feet.

"Once the shock of, you know, having a twin wore off I'd say you two were the closest out of any of us," Zoe said smiling slightly.

He couldn't quite figure it out but there was some other emotion in her voice, it wasn't sadness it was almost a weird mixture of regret and envy, but Kouichi quickly shook the idea off. What would she be envious of? "I know this might sound dumb but how did I introduce myself to Kouji? That must have been the most awkward train ride ever," Kouichi semi-chuckled before noticing Zoe's pained expression.

Before either of them could say anything they were greeted by an overly-excited Tommy. "Finally you guys are here! We ordered a pizza, well two, we know how Zoe and J.P. are," Tommy began talking way too fast.

"Calm down there buddy," Takuya said as he came to the door. "And don't give him that look Z we all know how you eat." Zoe just rolled her eyes as she pushed past Takuya into the living room.

"So are we gonna wait for Kouji or what?" J.P. asked as he flipped through the channels on the T.V.

"Why waste time? Let's get started," Takuya answered. "OK buddy, what do you want to know?"

Kouichi simply shrugged and the others exchanged glances before Tommy's face lit up, "I know! Sit down Kouichi; it's time to learn The Legend!"

"Duh duh duh," J.P. and Takuya said in unison.

"Ugh boys," Zoe muttered under her breath.

"Legend?" Kouichi asked, his curiosity rising.

"It's the legend of the Legendary Warriors of course," J.P. began before being cut off by Tommy.

"It was my idea I get to tell him! He's right though, it's the legend of the ten Legendary Warriors. It all started in ancient times when the human and beast type digimon would fight each other."

"Those are the two kinds of digimon," Takuya interrupted.

"Who's telling this story? Anyway, both groups wanted to rule the world. So there was chaos until Lucemon appeared, he was a good guy back then. Well he fixed the problem until, like a lot of TV bad guys; he became obsessed with his power."

"This is where the Legendary Warriors come in," J.P. said, looking proud.

Tommy just shot him a death glare for interrupting him before continuing. "Anyway they were the warriors of flame, light, ice, wind, thunder, earth, water, wood, steel and darkness. They defeated Lucemon and restored peace. When we first got there Bokomon, one of our digimon friends, told us that one day the spirits would come back and save the world again."

"And that is where we made history; ya see we were the ones who awakened the spirits," Takuya said looking pleased with their past accomplishments.

"Awakened the spirits?" Kouichi asked, mildly amused. "What did we do with them?"

"It's more of what they did with us," J.P. began, "They became a part of us and we became the Legendary Warriors."

Kouichi just sat in awe for a moment while he tried to process all that was being said. "Who was who?"

Right when Takuya was about to respond the doorbell rang. "Ugh, this better be the pizza," J.P. moaned.

"Close," Kouji said as he walked into the room holding two pizzas.

"Why'd you ring the bell if you were just gonna walk in anyway?" Takuya asked looking annoyed.

Kouji just shot him a death glare. "Whoever ordered these owes me $16.50." He had barely gotten his whole sentence out before J.P. and Zoe were grabbing them from his hands.

---

"Can I talk to you Kouichi?" Kouji asked once a majority of the pizzas were gone.

"Yeah sure," Kouichi said putting his plate down and following Kouji out of the room. The others exchanged satisfied smiles before polishing off the rest of the food.

"I'm sorry Kouichi," Kouji began once the two were alone. "I guess I didn't know how to do this. You were the one who found me the first time. I just don't really know what to say."

"What did I say the first time?" Kouichi asked innocently.

"We met under different circumstances," Kouji answered sternly.

"Oh," was all Kouichi could say. He knew it was happening again, he wasn't being told the whole truth.

"But the first time you had spent over six months trying to talk to me, but you couldn't seem to muster up enough courage to do it, probably because of my- our dad. I'm sorry for what he did," Kouji continued, looking pained, "He remarried and never told me that he divorced our mother, he had told me that she had died in a car crash and that was it. Not one mention of me having a brother, a twin."

"Does dad know you know?" Kouichi asked in a fairly steady tone.

"No, I haven't told him. I don't know what to tell him."

"I could go with you if you'd like," Kouichi mumbled, trying to mask the need to see his father.

"Yeah ok," Kouji said smiling at his brother. "Can we go now?" Kouichi just nodded and the two walked towards the front door.

"Whoa, where are you guys going?" Zoe asked from the couch.

"We'll be back," Kouji said in a monotone voice and Kouichi just gave her a small smile before following Kouji out the door.

The two walked in silence until they were in front of the Minamoto's gate. "After you," Kouichi whispered looking a little terrified.

Kouji nodded and tooka deep breath before walking towards the front door. "Ready?" he asked his brother who nodded before he opened the door and walked into the den. "Dad…" Kouji said in a weak voice before it failed him.

The tone of Kouji's voice caught Mr. Minamoto's attention and he muted the TV before turning around. When his eyes fell on Kouichi he, in an almost cliché way, squeezed his eyes shut before taking another look. "Kouichi…" he muttered as he walked towards the boys.

All Kouichi could do was fight back tears as he nodded. Mr. Minamoto also nodded and for a moment he looked as though he was going to break down before he pulled his oldest son into a tight hug.

"Kouichi," was all he could say before he started to cry a little. By the time Kouichi felt his father's first tear on his back he was on the brink of sobbing.

After a good five minutes Mr. Minamoto finally let go of Kouichi and turned to his younger son, "How did you?" he asked as he wiped his eyes.

"Fate."

* * *

_Author's note: well there you go chapter 4. I know I'm stalling when it comes to the whole Duskmon thing I really don't know how I'm gonna do it yet but rest assured it'll come soon, promise._


	5. Remember the mistakes you've made

_Author's note: blah, this took forever for me to update and it's a short chapter and kind of crappy :( I couldn't add much more without it seeming like it was just dragging on but I know it's too short. Well when I was writing this I started to wonder what Zoe would look like you know cause she's Italian and Japanese well I decided to google it (don't judge me haha) and she would look kinda like Rosa Kato only with a different hair and eye color. (she's half Japanese-half Italian) ok well I'm odd haha and aparently I have ADD but yeah back to the story,_

**Disclaimer: So i mysteriously came into a lot of money the other night and i had to decide between buying Digimon and a Milky Way Bar, well my sweet tooth won.**

* * *

"We have to tell him," Kouji said sternly, glaring at the others as though he was daring them to contradict him as the five sat in Takuya's living room waiting for Kouichi to show up for their daily "remembering sessions" as Tommy calls it.

"Do we have to?" Zoe almost whined. "We can't hurt him like that."

"But we did tell him we wouldn't lie to him," J.P. said wisely as Takuya rolled his eyes.

"It's not lying," Takuya began, "it's more of a selective recollection."

"It's his life he deserves to know," Kouji growled.

"I'm gonna agree with Kouji, Kouichi would want to know," Tommy muttered apprehensively, not wanting to get in the middle of the fight.

"It almost killed him the first time, what would make now any different?" Zoe asked angrily.

"We're telling him," Kouji said with a note of finality in his voice.

"How the hell do you plan on doing it? 'Hey Kouichi, I know you don't remember anything but you were a borderline psychotic homicidal maniac; just though you should know,'" Takuya said sarcastically.

"Let's do this fairly, Tommy said as he stepped between Takuya and Kouji. "All in favor of telling Kouichi," he said raising his hand. Both J.P. and Kouji also raised their hands while Takuya and Zoe glared pointedly at the trio.

"Well then that's settled," J.P. laughed a little unnerved about how the conversation would play out.

"He's gonna hate himself," Zoe said without making eye contact with the others.

"Kouichi needs to know," Kouji said softly, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"I need to know what?" Kouichi asked as he entered the living room. When he saw the shocked look on the other's faces a small blush crept over his face. "Sorry, Takuya said I could walk right in."

The others gave him forced smiles as Takuya motioned for him to sit down. "You're taking the lead on this," Takuya muttered under his breath to Kouji who looked uncharacteristically nervous.

"Fine," he muttered, "Kouichi, something really important happened to you in the Digital World."

"Ok?" Kouichi chuckled until he noticed the others' saddened expressions.

"Well you know how we told you about the Legendary Warriors?" Kouji began, looking to the others for support. "Well, after they sealed Lucemon away three Celestial Digimon ruled the Digital World while the warriors went into a hibernation sort of thing. Their names were Seraphimon, Cherubimon and Ophanimon. Each was given some of the spirits and a specific task. Seraphimon was given the spirits of Wind and Light as well as the job of keeping law and order. Ophanimon had the spirits of Fire, Thunder and Ice and she was responsible from preserving life and love."

"I think that's the cheesiest thing you've ever said Kouji," J.P. snickered.

"Do you want to tell it?" Kouji grumbled in a low voice.

Instead of answering J.P. just sunk back into his seat. "Yeah that's what I thought. Anyway, Cherubimon had the other five and he was supposed to protect knowledge and legends. Well after a while Cherubimon became paranoid that the other two were plotting against him and eventually became consumed with hatred and fear and that allowed Lucemon to use him to his advantage. Cherubimon used 'his' five spirits to gain power by collecting the digital world's fractal code."

There was a brief uncomfortable silence as Kouji tried to find the right way to phrase what he had to say next. "The warriors of Water, Wood, Steel and Earth were easier to control than the warrior of Darkness. Cherubimon tried to bond it with a bunch of other digimon spirits but they all failed miserably."

"I don't understand," Kouichi muttered when Kouji trailed off and they all went silent for a moment.

"Eventually he did find a spirit strong enough to wield the power of Darkness," Kouji continued, half ignoring his brother. "He used your spirit for the warrior of Darkness," Kouji finally said as he and the others avoided Kouichi's gaze.

"I was…" Kouichi trailed off looking pained. "How?"

"When you fell," Kouji muttered solemnly. "Your spirit entered the Digital World while your body stayed at the bottom of the stairs. Cherubimon saw how much emotional pain you were in, he saw the darkness in your heart and he thought you had enough to control the spirit, he was right."

"I'm evil?" Kouichi whispered in a shaky voice.

"No! No, you were brainwashed," Zoe said softly as the others agreed.

"I…did I kill?" Kouichi asked, looking completely disgusted.

"You wanted to tell him," Takuya whispered to Kouji who looked slightly distraught.

"Duskmon did, yeah," Kouji said emphasizing 'Duskmon.' "He wasn't that concerned with life, he even took out one of his allies."

"Did I hurt you guys?" Kouichi asked to himself more than to the others.

When no one answered him Kouichi stood up so suddenly that everyone jumped slightly. "No," he said simply. "I couldn't, I… I wouldn't."

"Kouichi…" Zoe muttered, grabbing his wrist gently but Kouichi violently shook her off.

"It wasn't your fault," Tommy said weakly looking slightly scared.

Kouichi just glared at the group. "No. You're lying. Is this your idea of a joke?"

"Kouichi…" Kouji said looking hurt. "I'm sorry."

"It was all a lie wasn't it?" he said, tears forming in his eyes. "The Digital World, everything…it never happened."

"It did Kouichi, honest we-" J.P. muttered only to be cut off by Kouichi.

"Save it," He nearly growled. "And to think I really believed you guys."

"Kouichi," Kouji said forcefully as he stood up also. "Why would we lie about something like this?"

"I don't know, you have a sick sense of humor," He laughed callously. "I actually thought you guys were my friends." He sighed as he walked out of Takuya's house without a look back.

The others just sat their staring at the closed door before Zoe broke the silence, "I freakin' told you!" she said with tears in her eyes.

"Should we go after him?" Tommy whispered, still looking a little frightened by Kouichi's outburst.

"Let's let him cool off a little," Takuya sighed. "It's a lot to take in."

"He thinks we lied to him," Kouji muttered to no one in particular.

"I told you we were gonna hurt him, you shouldn't have said anything. He hates us!" Zoe said, tears falling down her face.

"Don't worry Z, he doesn't hate us," J.P. said as he placed a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"It'll be ok," Takuya mumbled to Kouji who looked as though he was about to be sick.

"We really screwed up didn't we?"

* * *

_Author's Note: Poor Kouichi :( (he was a little out of character in this, sorry) but lucky you! i finally got to the Duskmon part! Bet that wasn't how you thought it would play out was it? (actually you're a smart bunch of readers i wouldn't be surprised if you guys saw this coming from a mile away) anyway see you next chapter!_


	6. Remember whom you have encountered

_Author's Note: wow...just wow! i had six reviews for the last chapter that's a record for me (unless if you count my mimato one-shot) anyway thank you all so much! I'm actually pretty surprised that people are liking this, good thing i didn't scrap it like i was planning to.  
__  
**to Banana:**thank you! I'm really glad you like it_

anyway back to the author's note. at first i was going to do this chapter differently but Shaman Hime gave me an idea which I'm using in the next chapter, this chapter just kind of sets it up. Also for my ADHD moment of this chapter: so i was reading digimon uncensored (google it, it's a hilarious website) and i found out Brad Sherwood had a small part in Data Squad! it honestly made my day. i love Brad! he was one of my favorites on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" which is one of my favorite shows ever (you should look it up on youtube if you haven't seen it, it's the best!) and it made me really happy that he was in digimon it's just so random, i love it! but i digress, you aren't here for my rambling, you're here for my story well here it is:

_p.s. i've started to pack for college so there's a chance i might not update until i move in, i'll probably update sooner i just wanted to warn you guys that it's a possibility _

**Disclaimer: I saw a homeless guy on the street so i gave him digimon in hopes that it would make him happy...it did**

* * *

One week. It had been one week since Kouichi had stormed out of Takuya's living room. In that week Kouichi had managed to avoid any contact with the group apart from occasionally running into Takuya at school but all in all it was going the way he wanted- he was cutting ties with them.

Of course it hurt but they had lied to him, it had to be a lie. They had made him believe in some fantastical world with talking creatures and super powers and more than the usual struggle between good and evil. He had to admit though they had a helluva imagination, especially when it came to the most convincing part of their story, the part that hurt him the most. He thought they were his friends.

For once in his life they made him believe that he was wanted. Not to be sappy but the kid's had a rough life and finally someone, actually five someones _(A/N: that doesn't make sense but that's the only way I could think to phrase it)_ thought about him for more than a second, hell they might have even thought about him when he wasn't there.

_It was all a lie_, he had to remind himself any time his thoughts drifted back towards the group.

And even though he constantly reminded himself of that 'fact' a part of him would never be convinced. _Kouji's real though, so why can't the Digital World be too?_

It always came back to that: Kouichi was a twin, he had met his family. They were real. That couldn't be made up.

Even when he humored the part of him that wanted it all to be real he couldn't, he refused to accept that he had caused pain to another living being. Hell, he felt guilty killing spiders, there was no way he could do that to a digimon, much less try to kill another human. So he would never believe it.

He would go back to his life before the fall, before everybody, he would be Kouichi, the shy one, the nobody. The way it was supposed to be. After all he didn't really need friends; he had gone eleven years without them. But he still couldn't ignore the voice of reason in his head that told him that he had also gone eleven years without a brother and father. He knew he needed his family and right now it seemed his family was a packaged deal with the Digital World.

--

"Kouichi!" Takuya called after the last bell rang that Friday.

At first Kouichi refused to acknowledge him and simply continued to gather his books from his locker. But Takuya was stubborn and Kouichi's cold shoulder act wasn't about to discourage him.

"We really weren't lying," Takuya said for at least the thirteenth time that week. For a moment Kouichi considered responding but decided against it and walked silently from the school with Takuya on his heels. "If it was a lie," Takuya continued, "how would I know that your favorite bands are Audioslave, Foo Fighters and Yellowcard? Or that you're hemophobic and in my opinion slightly doxophobic?"

"Listen," Kouichi began in a painfully calm voice after glaring slightly at the doxophobia comment, "while it was a great idea for a joke, it really isn't funny. And I'd really appreciate it if you'd leave me alone."

For a moment Takuya was stunned by Kouichi's cold glare but he quickly shook it off and ran after Kouichi. "Fine, I'll leave you, we'll all leave you alone if you go talk to Kouji."

"I said no," he said calmly and to his pleasant surprise Takuya did not follow. "They're determined I'll give them that," he muttered to himself as he continued to walk home.

Instead of heading straight to the store he needed to stop at he decided that he didn't want to waste the nice weather so he decided to visit the park. It also was a great place to clear his head. Once there he took his favorite perch on a five-foot tall brick wall that gave him a great view of the park.

"Hey Kouichi!" Tommy said, bounding up to him. Though he stiffened slightly Kouichi made no other indication that he knew Tommy was there. "I might be short but I know you can still see me," Tommy giggled hoisting himself onto the wall next to him.

"What do you want?" Kouichi sighed, turning to the boy.

"To talk. How are you?" Tommy said with a sweet smile. Instead of responding Kouichi simply pulled out his history book from his backpack. "_It_ _won't be long now_," Tommy began to sing when Kouichi refused to answer. When he did this Kouichi looked up from his book, startled by the sudden outburst. "_The music's on loud_, you can sing along you know. _We'll sing this song out and then we'll lie down_."

"What are you doing?" Kouichi finally asked once Tommy began to catch the attention of others.

"Singing," he said sweetly before continuing. "_Go put on your best tonight it's you and me and one spotlight_."

"I can see that," Kouichi hissed as he covered Tommy's mouth. "But why?"

"Cause it's your favorite song," Tommy said as though the answer was obvious. "You told us, that one time we played truth or dare and you refused to pick dare, even with Takuya bugging you about it."

"That never happened Tommy," Kouichi said calmly.

"Then how would I know your favorite song and that you broke your leg when you were nine?" Kouichi just stared at the boy astonished before shaking his head and putting his book back in his bag.

"Fine, don't believe me," Tommy said, jumping off the wall. "If I were you I'd go see Kouji though," he finished, walking away humming the chorus to 'You and Me and One Spotlight' as he left.

"They're beyond determined," Kouichi whispered to himself as she also jumped off the wall and began walking to the store to pick up some things for his mother.

--

"Hey, you might want this," J.P. said coming up behind Kouichi, causing him to jump and handing him some curry roux. "You can't make Kare Raisu without it." _(A/N: that's probably wrong, I just found it online. Don't judge me, I'm American and yes I have many different ethnicities but not one of them is Asian.)_

Kouichi just stared at the package in his hand in shock before J.P. started laughing. "You're wondering how I know your favorite food, well my friend you told me. When? You ask, in the Digital World."

"It was just a lucky guess," Kouichi mumbled as he put the curry roux back on the self and went to the check-out line.

"Fine," J.P. said as he followed Kouichi, "let me guess again. You're allergic to Yellow Jackets," he laughed with a smug smile. "Are you going to tell me that's luck?"

"What do you want?" Kouichi finally asked once he had finished paying.

"I want you to talk to your brother," J.P. said as he grabbed Kouichi's shirt to prevent him from ignoring him.

"Are you out of your mind?" Kouichi hissed as he yanked himself from J.P.'s grasp.

"Quite possibly, but that's not the point. You need to see Kouji," He said in a deathly serious tone.

"Not gonna happen," Kouichi said as he turned on his heels and walked home.

--

"I'm home," Kouichi called as he walked into his house.

"How was your day?" his mom asked as she continued to wash dishes.

"Interesting," he grumbled, "I have a lot of homework, I'll be in my room." His mother just nodded with a mischievous smile as he left the kitchen.

"Weird day," Kouichi muttered to himself when he saw his mother's expression. Instead of dwelling on it he shook it off and continued to his room.

"Zoe!" Kouichi gasped, jumping slightly when he saw the blond girl sitting at his desk.

"Did ya know that we almost left this at the bottom of the stairs?" Zoe asked, referring to the blue baseball cap in her hands. "Yeah, when we turned to go to the hospital one of the police officers caught Tommy's attention and gave it to him. Good thing too, it looks nice on you," Zoe chuckled as she took off her own purple hat and put on his. "Not so much on me though."

"What are you doing in my house?" Kouichi finally asked once he regained his composure.

"Your mom let me in." Zoe said without taking his hat off.

"Ok…but what are you doing in my house?" Kouichi reiterated, shutting his bedroom door so his mother couldn't overhear.

"Well," Zoe began, standing up from his desk. "I'm supposed to tell you some random facts about yourself that I'd only know if the Digital World was real and then I'm supposed to tell you to see Kouji. But I'm not going to do that," she said folding her arms across her chest.

"Just leave," Kouichi grumbled. Pushing past her to sit at his desk and start his homework.

"Don't you want to know why I'm not saying random things about you?" She asked. Kouichi didn't respond instead he pulled his math book out and began working out problems. "The silent treatment? Real mature Kimura."

After a minute or so Kouichi finally sighed and turned to face Zoe. "Fine, I'll listen to whatever you have to say," he sighed.

"Good," she said with a satisfied smile. "I'm not gonna do that because it clearly hasn't worked. If it had worked you'd be at Kouji's right now. Honestly though, I'm a little surprised that the guys weren't able to convince you. Why is that?"

Her warm demeanor made it hard for Kouichi to keep up his cold glare and finally he dropped it. "Because I know you're lying," he said simply.

"It seemed like you believed us for a while," she said, sitting on his bed.

"I did, what you were saying seemed believable," he said, looking upset.

"We told you we met in an alternate universe," Zoe laughed. "Are you still on those painkillers?"

Kouichi couldn't help but laugh a little too, "It wasn't any more surprising than finding out I had a twin."

"Well, why did you stop believing us?" Zoe asked, though she knew the answer.

"I'm not capable of killing," he said simply.

"Oh Kouichi," Zoe sighed as she stood up, taking off Kouichi's hat and placing it on his head. "Go talk to Kouji." And with that she left his room.

"I might as well I guess."

* * *

_Author's note: well there you go chapter 6, the next chapter will be very "twiny" (not a word but i don't care) adios until then._


	7. Remember sorrows too

_Pre-Author's note: to be blunt my week has sucked. A sophomore at my old high school, in my sister's grade, committed suicide on Monday. It's just really really sad I didn't know him well but he seemed to be such a happy kid and from all the stories I've hear he was astounding. He was such a smiley kid and it just sucks. And it's my last week at home and I'd really love to be spending it with my friends but they're all already in school or working full time and I won't be able to see them till Saturday (I move Sunday) and I hate hate HATE leaving people I've done it too many times before and I'm afraid things are gonna change between them while I'm gone (my close group of friends consists of eight people including me and they have pretty strong personalities and some have shorter tempers than others and if they get pissed at each other I won't be able to act as mediator like I always do and they can be pretty stubborn.) Don't get me wrong we really love each other but I know things change and I don't know how I'll deal with it if it does. I mean the week after graduation we all lived in a tent together haha and we talked about how we were all going to be each other's bridesmaids and our kids will grow up together and I really want that to happen. And one of the eight moved to Florida in that week which was devastating and now I feel like when I leave too our group will fall apart (I know it won't but it's a natural fear I think) and it's just really stressful dealing with all that AND the suicide AND packing for college AND making my sister's homecoming dress (bet you didn't know I made dresses did ya? haha) AND writing. Anyway thank you for listening to my rant. The end haha_

_Real Author's note: hola mi fanfiction amigos! First as I promised this is a very twiny chapter! And for this chapter, well story, to make sense everything after Kouichi woke up never happened. That means the holding hands, the crying and the hug are all gone. Second, I need your guys' help. Because a number of you actually like this story (which is a huge surprise to me) I've been winging it this whole time and to be honest I could go on forever but I think I'm going to end it in the next one or two chapters. So if you review this please tell me if you think that's a good idea or if you'd like me to go on longer, either one works for me so I'll let you guys choose...anyway story time! In an unrelated note: I can't stop listening to TATU…it's insane…crap I had something else to say…I can't remember oh yeah— this is officially the last thing that will be updated in September. (That might be a lie, but probably not) I need time to adjust to school which starts in exactly a week._

_to **GaliStar07**: your reviews made me smile so much thank you! I'm so glad you like it!_

**Disclaimer: I'm not in the mood for a funny disclaimer...sorry**

* * *

"This is a mistake," Kouichi grumbled to himself as he made his way towards his brother's house. "There's nothing he can say that would make me change my mind."

In the back of his mind he knew that wasn't true, he wouldn't be going if there wasn't the slightest chance that things could change. In all honesty though he wasn't sure whether or not he wanted things to change but it couldn't get much worse.

Though truth be told he had been considering worse outcomes; like the possibility that he was actually still in a coma and everything was a dream, including his brother. But he refused to dwell on that idea. It was safest to just assume they were lying to him.

This brought him back to the present where he was walking to his brother's house. The whole way he would remind himself that he was doing this against his better judgment and only to get the others off his back.

He continued to walk at the slowest pace possible for him, along the back roads and more than likely he was just walking around in circles. He had never been one for confrontation.

But with nothing left to distract him Kouichi finally rang the doorbell, hoping that Kouji wasn't home. "Kouichi," Mr. Minamoto said as he opened the door and hugged his oldest son who halfheartedly returned the hug. "Are you ok?" he asked when he noticed Kouichi's odd demeanor.

Kouichi shrugged, unable to lie to his father. "Is Kouji here?" he mumbled.

"He's in his room," Mr. Minamoto answered, opening the door wider to allow Kouichi to pass him. "Upstairs, it's the second door on the right."

"Thanks," he sighed as he made his way slowly towards Kouji's room.

Right when Kouichi's knuckles were about to make contact with the door Kouji opened it and silently motioned for Kouichi to enter. The two just stood there, Kouichi avoiding eye contact and Kouji simply staring at him.

"Kouichi…" Kouji began after a few minutes but Kouichi quickly cut him off.

"I only came here so you guys would leave me alone. Sure you made up an amazing story, it'd probably make a great T.V. show but I don't want to be a part of it," he said in an apathetic tone.

"Even if it's true?" Kouji said, cocking his eyebrow.

Kouichi froze for a moment. He had never truly given it much thought- the idea that he really did kill. If it was true wouldn't that mean he was some kind of monster? If it was true than maybe this was his second chance to not become that person again.

"Especially if it's true," he said, finally making eye contact. Kouji just shrugged and Kouichi took this as a sign that it was ok for him to leave.

"Ya know, even with what you'vedone there are fiveof us who are able to see pass it and care about you regardless of it. If you're willing to give up on that then fine, leave now," Kouji said calmly once his brother's back was towards him.

Kouichi considered his words for a moment before he responded, still not facing his brother, "I'm gonna regret this but…I'll listen."

"Thank you," Kouji said as he motioned for Kouichi to sit down. "Ok, so do you remember anything else?"

"Actually I remember our grandma dying and finding your address…that's all," Kouichi said looking almost surprised with what he was saying as though he was remembering as he was speaking.

"Well, the night we went to the Digital World you were following me and when I went in the elevator you missed it by like a second and decided to use the stairs. And well…you know. Well your mind or spirit, I'm not quite sure, went to the Digital World and Cherubimon saw your sadness and used it to his advantage."

"My sadness?" Kouichi interrupted.

"You can't make anything easy can you?" Kouji muttered under his breath. "You felt kinda abandoned," he said in a louder voice. "You were upset that mom's life was so hard while dad was remarried and living a great life."

"Oh," was all Kouichi could say. It made sense. Even now he couldn't help but be a little envious of Kouji's life. He would never admit it or change places with him. He just wished things were a little easier.

"Yeah, so he erased your memory and gaveyou his corrupted spirit of darkness which gave you a physical form. You fought for Cherubimon and you were damn good. We couldn't beat you no matter how hard we tried." Kouichi just sat there in a shocked silence, torn on what to believe. "Eventually we were able to separate your spirit from Duskmon's and that's when you told us your whole back story. Then you wanted to go against Cherubimon by yourself and when you tried the spirits of darkness were "cleansed" I guess, and you got the real spirits of darkness. After your fight with Cherubimon, well his clone, you were going to leave the group and take on Cherubimon yourself. Well we wouldn't let you and lot of other stuff happened before you realized something wasn't right."

"Wasn't right?" Kouichi interrupted again.

At first Kouji gave him the glare he used with Takuya but his expression quickly softened. "Yeah, we had a couple rough fights and a few times we were so badly hurt that our fractal code was exposed. Anyway whenever our fractal code was knocked out of us yours never was and generally you would never be as hurt as the rest of us. At first we thought you were just lucky or maybe a little more resilient. We didn't know. Until one of our enemies told you that you weren't physically in the Digital World." (_author's note: pretend he knows what a fractal code is, i'm not sure how to explain it haha_)

Kouichi opened his mouth as though he was going to say something but decided against it and simply nodded. "When you first heard that," Kouji continued. "You didn't tell anyone, you just kinda let it stew inside. You were just suddenly a lot quieter and you always looked as though you were about to cry. Well, Bokomon overheard her, the enemy, tell you but you made him promise not to tell. He didn't listen to you and he told the others about it. And of course they worried about you but soon after they found out Lucemon, remember from the legend, attacked."

Kouji paused for a minute, not wanting to relive what happened next. But his story had sparked Kouichi's curiosity, "Then What?"

"Well…" Kouji began slowly. "During the battle we were pretty much getting our asses handed to us until you blocked one of the attacks…and it…the attack…'killed you.' You left the Digital World and gave me your spirits of Darkness."

By this point Kouichi's expression was a mixture of confusion and awe. "I…"

"Yes," Kouji interrupted. "You sacrificed yourself to save us."

"Wow."

"You're telling me," Kouji muttered. "We eventually defeated everything and on our way back to the real world Lowemon, the human warrior if darkness, told us you were alive. So we went to where you fell and then to the hospital but when we got there the doctors were about to call T.O.D but…"

"Whoa! Wait, they didn't tell me…I died?" Kouichi interrupted, shocked.

"Kinda, but in your hospital room our D-tectors saved you, I'm not really sure how but they did. And that's when the doctors made us leave…you know what happens next," Kouji said solemnly.

"Wow."

"So…do you believe it?" Kouji asked tentatively.

For a moment Kouichi didn't respond. Suddenly what the others said when they were talking about their relationships made sense

_"__You were much nicer than I expected."_

_"When you came you were so mysterious and powerful."_

_"It's the least we could do after what you did for us."_

_"Your pain was so heart-wrenching and I didn't think you deserved it."_

"I think I do," he finally said.

When he said this the other four came bursting out of Kouji's closet. "Yay!" Zoe squealed as she and Tommy wrapped their arms around Kouichi.

"What the hell? How the hell did you get in there?" Kouji nearly yelled.

The others ignored him and focused their attention on the older twin. "You really believe it? Everything, even your murderous streak?" Takuya asked looking skeptical yet excited.

"Yeah," Kouichi chuckled as he tried to pry Tommy, who had yet to let go, off of him. "It sucks that I did those things but I'm glad I was able to make up for it."

"Seriously, how the hell did you get into my closet?"

"What made today different?" J.P. asked, ignoring Kouji.

"I could tell Kouji wasn't lying," he said simply. "I guess I didn't pay that much attention the first time."

"Well I'm just glad we're all friends again," Zoe laughed. "It sucked to not be able to talk to you."

"I just want to know how you guys got in my freakin' closet!"

* * *

_Author's Note: well there you go chapter 7. Remember i want to know how long you guys think i should make it. Anyway, see you all in October!_


	8. Remember the lessons you forgot

_Author's note: College is insane. And before you judge me I am not a partier, I do not drink at all nor do I partake in any illegal activities and it's still insane! I love it! But needless to say it has cut into my writing time…I wanted to update this weeks ago but I had a huge case of writers block (and a worse case of bad luck with a bunch of other things) then I really wanted to update this Sunday but I didn't get it finished and the only reason I was able to update it today was because my class was canceled. But yes I love it and I think I've been defying the laws of physics, I've been able to have a social life and get good grades AND get a decent amount of sleep…I didn't think that was possible for a college kid hahah. But anyways about the story this was just an awkward chapter, I want to make that painfully clear. It's weird. I had a major case of writers block like I said and this was the result so I apologize in advance for how poorly it's written haha_

To **GaliStar07**: I can't tell you how they got in there, I've been sworn to secrecy haha and I swear I've been trying to read your story but every time I start something come up but I promise I'll read it.

To **mudkipmon**: wow…I'm beyond flattered! And I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit, you seem well spoken your story will be good. Anyway thank you so much I'm honestly a little in shock that someone would say that haha thanks again

To **Rain621**: thank you so much! And don't worry everything will work out for Kouichi…eventually hahah and as to how they got into the closet see my response to GaliStar07 hahaha

**Disclaimer: there once was a time i owned Digimon but sadly i traded it for a fireball...it was worth it....**

* * *

"Everything's finally back to normal," Takuya sighed as he stretched himself across the sofa in Kouji's living room and placed his feet on J.P.'s shoulder.

"Not exactly," J.P. groaned as he threw Takuya's legs off of him consequently causing Takuya to fall to the ground.

"Yeah," Tommy chirped as Takuya pulled himself off the floor "Kouichi still doesn't remember the Digital World."

"We are not recapping all fifty episodes," Kouji growled.

"Fine," J.P. sighed as he dodged Takuya who was trying to smack him in the back of the head. "Then we'll only do our favorite Kouichi moments."

"This sounds oddly familiar…" Kouji muttered under his breath.

"Can I go first?" Tommy asked excitedly as he bounced up and down slightly.

"I think Kouji has twin privileges with this one," Takuya laughed as the others nodded in agreement.

"Shut up Takuya." Kouji grumbled before continuing. "Fine, my favorite moment was, as dumb as it sounds, was meeting you. Of course at first I thought it was a joke and that my lack of sleep was finally getting to me but as you were telling you story…it made sense. It sucks but it fit. Every year around my-our birthday dad would just kinda sulk in his room and his smile was always forced but I just assumed it was because he didn't want me growing up…by the way the day you met him when you left he bawled all night. And I mean _all night."_

His story was met with an almost awkward silence before Takuya placed his arm around the younger twin. "Aww that was sweet."

"Shut up Takuya." Kouji growled, shrugging Takuya's arm off his shoulder. "So, who's next? Zoe?"

"Not yet, give me a minute," Zoe said almost too quickly.

"Ok?" J.P. semi-chuckled, "I guess I'll go… this is a hard one…I got it! Remember when we were stuck on the moon?"

"Really J.P.?" Zoe scoffed.

"Sorry Kouichi," J.P. mumbled, "I meant does anyone else remember that?"

"Of course we do just get on with the story." Takuya sighed, ignoring J.P.'s glare.

"Fine jeez! Ok well Kouichi we got stuck on one of the Digital World's moons and we had no way to get off so me, being the genius I am, decided to use some calculations to help us off. Well I don't really remember what you guys were doing but you walked past me and all you said was "you forgot to carry the seven" and you kept walking. Not the best story albeit it's my favorite. If Kouji or Takuya had caught my mistake…" J.P. continued before being interrupted by a rare burst of laughter from Kouji.

"Takuya? Catching a mathematical mistake? You've got to be kidding me!" He gasped through his laughter.

"Good point…" J.P. said, stroking his chin.

"It could happen!" Takuya said, folding his arms and turning away from the group.

"Ok if Kouji had caught my mistake he'd have been a prick about it. Don't lie…you would have," he added when Kouji opened his mouth to respond, "But Kouichi, you were just really nice about it and I don't know…it made me happy," J.P. finished, smiling slightly.

"Jeez! What's with the corny stories?" Takuya sighed with mock exasperation.

His comments simply received glares from the others before J.P. spoke, "Ok goggle-head what do you have?"

"I haven't really thought about it…give me a sec…"

"Takuya!" the group yelled in unison, except for Kouichi because for some reason I haven't given him any lines yet…

"You didn't yell at Zoe! Ok how about this one: so this one digimon froze out D-tectors so me and Kouji," Takuya began looking far too excited.

"Kouji and I," J.P. interrupted.

"Sorry, Kouji and I," Takuya continued sarcastically. "Couldn't spirit evolve. Then something happened to the others, it wasn't important though. What? It wasn't!" Takuya added when he noticed the looks the others were giving him. "Anyway you were the only one fighting and you just kinda went through him in a big ball of energy and destroyed him. It was awesome!"

Unlike Kouji's story which was met with a sympathetic silence Takuya's only received a collective eye-roll. "Has anyone ever told you you're great at telling stories?"

"You know what…fine I won't tell anymore stories," Takuya huffed as he stood up and walked across the room.

"Good my turn," Tommy said as he turned his attention away from Takuya.

"Good? Tommy I thought you were on my side?" Takuya gasped as he made his way back to the others.

"So this one time," Tommy began ignoring Takuya's outburst.

"Hey that was a good story!" Takuya pouted.

"It was a little random," J.P. mumbled, not giving Takuya his full attention.

"No, I was saying that I enjoyed Kouichi's insane killer instinct," Takuya said in a very matter-of-fact tone.

After a brief moment of silence Tommy continued without acknowledging his surrogate big brother, "So this one time we were walking through the woods and I was Takuya was annoying me…"

"Seriously is this pick on Takuya day?" Takuya grumbled under his breath.

"Takuya was annoying me," Tommy continued without missing a beat. "And a was grumbling to myself and you noticed Kouichi, so you silently grabbed this slingshot that J.P. had just made and was sticking out of his back pocket. Then you handed that and a tiny fruit you picked off a tree to me without saying a word."

"You gave him that?" Takuya gasped with a mix of astonishment and a little bit of acceptance, he'd rather it have been Kouichi than anyone else.

"I guess…" Kouichi chuckled (Hey look, I finally gave him a line!) between his friend's roars of laughter.

"But yeah that was my favorite moment…" Tommy continued once everyone's laughter had died down. "We really connected at that point. I felt like I had a fifth brother."

"Aww that was sweet," J.P. cooed. Sensing J.P.'s sarcasm Tommy just glared at his corpulent friend before turning his attention back towards the group.

"Now it's Zoe's turn," he said sweetly.

"No, no it's ok someone else can go," Zoe said quickly, shaking her head furiously.

"Uhh…Zoe?" Kouji began, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh…" Zoe mumbled sheepishly. "Fine my favorite moment was when I convinced you to talk to Kouji, it was nice to know at least one of you listened to me."

"Bullshit!" Takuya said in a voice that was slightly louder than necessary.

"What?" Zoe gasped, blushing slightly.

"That's bullshit!" he repeated with a slight smirk. "Tell him your real favorite moment."

After a brief silence Zoe rolled her eyes as she spoke, "That was my favorite moment!"

"Zoe you're not fooling anyone…ok you're fooling Kouichi but that's it." Kouji sighed giving his brother a sympathetic look.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zoe said, crossing her arms across her chest as her blush grew deeper.

"Fine…come on you guys," Takuya said, standing up.

"Where are we going?" Zoe said also standing up.

"You're not going anywhere." Takuya said sternly as he gently pushed Zoe back onto the couch. "We're gonna let you tell Kouichi your real favorite moment."

"But I told you I already did!" Zoe sighed, throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Well if you'd like I can tell him for you," Kouji said simply.

"Oh really?" Zoe laughed, folding her arms again. "What would you tell him?

"Ok Kouichi, since Zoe is being stubborn I guess we'll do it for her. So right before Lucemon attacked…" Kouji began with a mischievous smirk.

Ok, ok! I'll tell him, jeez!

* * *

_Author's note: I told you that was awkward…anyway I can't wait to write the next chapter *wink wink* hahaha the sad thing is I rarely have time so I might not update till December when I'm on winter break. See you whenever I update next!_


	9. Remember your heart

_Author's note: First of all please please please please please please please don't hate me! Hahaha but in all honesty you should…I mean I haven't updated since October! That in and of itself is reason to hate me. But seriously college is a free-time killer! But it's awesome! I love it! anyway I was busy over winter break…and spring break…and once summer started I was really unmotivated to write this, mainly because the way I wrote the previous chapter made it impossible for me to write anything but Zoe's favorite moment and for the longest time I just didn't want to…so I didn't…until now. Anyway I couldn't think of anything "cute" enough for these two so this is was I came up with. It's based off of chapter seven of my other fic "Thirty Kisses"…so yeah enjoy!_

_Oh yeah,_

To **Banana**: you said to write ASAP and clearly I didn't haha I am so so sorry I made you wait.

To **Rain621**: I'm so glad you like the last chapter! Sorry this isn't the "fluffiest" chapter, but I think it fits haha

**Disclaimer: I used to own Digimon but I've been gone so long the previous owners assumed I didn't want it and took it back…I'm upset…**

_p.s. sorry if sucks with teeth, I haven't written in a while and I kind of lost the hang of it_

* * *

"So…" Kouichi began after a slightly awkward silence.

For a moment Zoe just continued to play with her hands and avoided eye contact, "I don't know why they were making such a big deal about my favorite moment with you; it's really not a big deal."

Kouichi couldn't help but to smile at the blonde. Though he had only known her for a short time he knew that when she became repetitive it meant that she was nervous, "Then why won't you tell me?"

"Fine…jeez Kouichi you're worse than Kouji sometimes, I hope you know that." She chuckled before turning so she was sitting Indian style on the couch facing Kouichi. "Ok so during the battles whenever we would all get hurt you always seemed to be fine and at first it bothered you but you just wrote it off as luck. Well one time it happened and the digimon we were fighting told you that you were always fine because while we were physically in the digital world you were only there in spirit. I don't know how she knew that but whatever. Anyway at first you didn't want us to know but then you decided to tell Bokomon about it instead of us. I'm still mad at you for that by the way," she said giving him a fake glare. "I'm joking. But anyway Bokomon let it slip to us and it freaked us all out," she continued before pausing to honestly glare at Kouichi. "Don't give me that look," she said placing her hands on her hips.

"Wha-what look?" Kouichi stammered, looking rather confused.

"The 'get on with it' look. Trust me I've seen it before, you and Kouji are more alike than you think," she chuckled softly.

"I'm sorry," Kouichi replied with a shy smile slowly crossing his face.

"Good," she began with a triumphant smile. "Well anyway, we were waiting for Lucemon to attack and we were all hanging out and you came over to me and started talking and about how I was worried about what would happen and I was just being generally pessimistic about the situation when you finally asked what was making me act like that. Finally I told you that we knew about the whole 'not really being there' thing and I could tell you were freaking out. But even though you were about to have an episode you tried to comfort me. Truth be told I wasn't really buying what you were saying, but you still tried to make me feel better and that's why this is my favorite moment. You were pretty much at death's door but you still cared about whether or not I was ok. I guess it kinda cemented my feelings, for lack of a better phrase," she finished, blushing profusely.

"Feelings?" Kouichi asked as he cocked an eyebrow in an exact imitation of Kouji.

"Yes feelings you idiot," she said punching his arm. "And stop doing the Kouji thing."

"Sorry," he muttered, lowering his eyebrow. "What do you mean feelings?"

"Never mind," she chuckled as she turned an even deeper shade of red and avoided Kouichi's gaze.

"Zoe?" Kouichi nearly whispered. He didn't want to pressure her but she had sparked his curiosity.

"Ok fine," she sighed. "It's just that I really care about you and I know it's really weird but I do you're the most fantastic person I've ever met and your strength and compassion made me fall for you and I know it sounds crazy but the things that you went through and overcame in the digital world made it impossible for me to not like you and I've wanted to tell you this since we found out you weren't physically in the digital world but I never did and I really regret it but I'm laying it all out here right now," she said speaking a mile a minute, without breathing.

"Woah Zoe, punctuation; what was that?" Kouichi couldn't help but laugh.

"I like you Kouichi," she said as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh," was all he could say as his focus shifted to his shoes.

"Oh?" Zoe muttered a little crestfallen. "I'm sorry."

"No don't be sorry it's just-" he paused, trying to find the right words to say.

"Just what?" Zoe asked, her eyebrow now imitating the twins'.

"I don't know," he sighed. "I don't think, I know what I'm going to say isn't what you want to hear but I, the Kouichi sitting in front of you, didn't go to the digital world. I can't pretend to know what he, the one who went, felt. I wish I could pretend that everything's ok and that this-this accident- never happened. But it did. And I really, really hate that I have to say this but you fell for the Kouichi who went through those adventures with you and I'm not him. Don't get me wrong, I do like you, but I don't want to hurt you and you just want-need something that I can't give you. I wish I could, god I wish I could, but I can't and you can't pretend that I'm still the same Kouichi. I'm sorry that he had to die when I came out of the coma but you need to realize he did. And it sucks, I mean it sucks with teeth, but I can't let you like me. You like Kouichi Kimura: warrior of darkness who gave his life to save you and the others. I'm not him. I'm just Kouichi Kimura: random kid with a scar across his forehead from an accident that sent him into a coma. And I'm sorry Zoe but it would be selfish of me to feed into your feelings. You deserve a hero and that's not me. I'm sorry."

For a moment Zoe was silent before letting out a throaty "Oh."

"Zoe? No Zoe please don't cry," Kouichi said quickly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not gonna cry," she scoffed as a tear ran down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, please don't hate me," he muttered, taking his hand off her and staring at the ground.

"I don't hate you Kouichi," she sighed. "I guess I understand what you're saying it's just…I don't know. You might not see it but you're still the same person you were in the digital world. You're still a hero."

"But-" Kouichi began before being cut off by Zoe raising her hand.

"I'll see you later Kouichi"

* * *

_Author's note: well there you go. Finally chapter nine. Haha, not as fluffy as you would have like I bet. Sorry 'bout that, but I'm not the biggest fluff fan so I did what I think I do best, I made it slightly depressing. Haha sorry. Anyway my goal is to finish this thing before I go back to school…I think I only have three more chapters, but I don't remember (I have it written down somewhere) anyway once I finish I'm going to go back and tweak it a little, I'm just not happy with the way it is. Anyway once that happens I'll let you all know through my profile which chapters I've finished revising, who knows it might be like reading a whole different story (haha ok not really but it will be better!) anyway see you all next chapter (and I promise it won't take another eight months!)_


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